Ice Cream Headaches

Sometimes when I eat ice cream I get a sharp headache. Can this really be related to ice cream?

Yes — in fact, experts call that intense pain an ice cream headache. It peaks after 30 to 60 seconds and passes in one to five minutes. Migraine sufferers are more likely to experience these headaches. No one is sure what causes the throbbing, but some theorize that when the frozen treat hits the back of the roof of your mouth, it stimulates a nerve that can hurt with intense cold and also can cause blood vessel dilation, producing a pulsing headache. (Robert Smith, M.D., founder of the Cincinnati Headache Center at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and an ice cream headache victim himself, confirmed that theory by putting crushed ice in different parts of his mouth.) But you don't need to pass on great ice cream desserts; try keeping the cold stuff toward the front and sides of your mouth, and eat slowly. If a headache comes on, hold a little ice to your head; experts say that, ironically, the cold stops the throbbing.